Apocalypse
by GarnetMonsoon
Summary: When Lloyd's final strike pierces Mithos's heart, his world goes white and blank. He awakens outside of Iselia, before the journey, with no recollection of who he is, and no Cruxis Crystal. As his memory returns, he comes face-to-face with the most difficult obstacle he has ever faced - himself.


Wow, I never thought I'd be writing a ToS fanfic about Mithos of all people, but here we are. This is a story about Mithos's struggles to atone and become a good person again, if it wasn't easy to see from the description. There will be small instances of Colloyd. This story is meant to be Mithos's point of view, but will include some of Lloyd's as well.

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Mithos Yggdrasil could hardly believe what was happening to him at this moment; he was dying. An enlightened being; more powerful than anyone could dream; leader of Cruxis, the organization that guided this worthless world so that it might one day be a true and civilized society. After years of grueling effort, centuries of careful planning and dedication, it was all worthless. How could a _human_, the child of his once-closest friend, no less – reduce him to such a pitiful fate? The bitter part of him could almost laugh at the disgusting irony.

'What a fool,' he thought disdainfully. Echoes of the young man's talk of redemption slowly faded from his hearing, replaced by a soft rushing, which slowly became louder. The world before him became distorted, swirls of colors, light and dark, fizzling specks danced about as he felt himself pulled upwards, as if away from his own body. He was almost glad to die just so he wouldn't have to listen to his drivel any longer. As his vision faded, he could just barely make out the garishly-dressed teenager slice his exsphere into two.

If only he had never entrusted his vessel to Kratos. If only he had listened to that lingering desire to ensure the chosen's success when the oracle was sent. He should never have let that traitor convince him that he could do it alone. Perhaps if he had been there, that miserable failure would never have gotten as far as she had. She and that wretched human boy.

But in the end, perhaps it didn't really matter so much. He would see Martel soon.

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The only part of the school day that brought joy to Lloyd Irving, aside from lunch, was the final dismissal. Sighing with relief over getting past this particular day's method of slow torture -Algebra – he stood up from his oak desk, stretching gratefully.

"Lloyd!" A voice called out over the chattering of the remaining students.

Looking to the front of the classroom, he spotted his best friend, Genis. The young boy was struggling to clean off the black board behind him. White dust sifted through the rays of sunlight coming in from the windows beside him. Brushing his hands off, he turned to greet his friend.

"What's up, Genis?" He started towards where the younger boy stood, next to the Professor.

"Raine and I have got some stuff to do at home tonight, so I can't walk home with you," Genis began gathering up papers and book from the podium next to him. Raine approached from behind, taking the materials from her younger brother, and adding them to what she held in her hands.

"You're more than welcome to join us, Lloyd. I was going to tutor Genis some more on his Trigonometry."

Lloyd grimaced, not bothering to hide his distaste, to which Genis rolled his eyes.

"Uhhh, no thanks. I've got some, uh, stuff to do for Dad." It was a flimsy excuse, sure, but Lloyd hoped it would work well enough.

"Really?" She intoned sarcastically, making it clear she was not convinced. Her eyebrow raised after a moment, prompting him to elaborate.

"Yeah! We need to fix up one of the walls to Noishe's pin. He's gonna start teaching me carpentry soon." It _could_ be true, hypothetically. Noishe had recently knocked out a couple of boards from his pin while he was sleeping. Lately, the dog had been sleeping fitfully, as if he was having disturbing nightmares. But that would be silly, right? Dogs having _nightmares_! The professor only sighed, not bothering to challenge him.

"Well I guess I'll just go with you next time." He gave a wave, and left with his sister.

Lloyd turned back, eyes scanning the classroom. After a few seconds of searching, he spotted who he was looking for, smiling to himself.

"Hey, Colette!" He made his way towards her, weaving through a row as she said goodbye to the other student she had been talking with.

"Lloyd!" She smiled brightly, and made her way towards him. Halfway there, her foot caught the leg of a chair, and the lurched forward. Before she could hit the ground, two red gloved hands grabbed her arms, holding her up.

"Woah!" He chuckled. "Be careful!"

She laughed nervously. "Heheh, sorry! I mean, thanks!"

He shook his head in exasperation, taking care in letting go of her. How did she manage to trip over things so often? He noticed she was looking at him questioningly.

"Was there something you wanted, Lloyd?"

"Oh, right." He'd almost forgotten what he'd wanted to ask her.

"Wanna come to my house?" He paused, remembering the excuse he had just given Raine.

"Oh, but if Genis and Raine ask you later, I'll be learning carpentry, okay?" He laughed bashfully, hoping she wouldn't say anything about him lying.

"Sure! Are Genis and Raine not coming with us?" She tilted her head just slightly to the side in curiosity, her eyes flicking towards the blackboard.

"Nah, they're doing math. Eugh!" he gagged, and the two shared a short laugh. By now, they were the only two people left in the schoolhouse, as everyone else had gone home.

"Let me just tell Dad and Grandma on the way out of town." She picked up her book from her desk, and Lloyd did likewise. He held out a hand.

"Here, let me carry that for you." It was a sudden impulse, but felt somehow natural. He didn't always carry her books, but then, they didn't always spend time alone together, either. He wondered if she ever felt pushed into the background, what with Genis being a boy as well as Lloyd. Sure, they had Raine, but she was older, and their professor. Other girls in town saw her less as Colette and more as a chosen. And it was true, he was always aware of Colette as the chosen, but... He himself shook out of his musings. He just wanted her to live normally, that was all.

She tried to stop him, holding up a hand and waving it. "You don't have to, Lloyd! I'm fine."

"Don't be silly!" He shook his head. "I want to."

She hesitated for a moment and then handed it to him, thanking him.

"No problem. Let's go! I hope Dad cooked, because I'm starving!" He grinned widely, placing his hands behind his head as they walked out of the empty schoolhouse and into the fresh air.

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At this time in late afternoon, the forest truly seemed alive. The bright sun shone through the leaves of the canopy above, almost glittering as the wind gently rustled them. Cicadas buzzed, birds sang, and the stream bubbled, but one boy's enthusiastic voice could be heard above it all.

He was recounting his latest dream to her, full of sword-swinging action and heroic deeds. But like most dreams, his made little sense in terms of reality. For reasons he couldn't fathom, most of his dreams ended up segueing into food at some point. Whether it was people becoming food, or Lloyd being attacked by food, it was almost always something outrageous. This was one of those dreams.

Colette's laughter rang throughout the woods, and drew in a deep breath, struggling to get out her words.

"You always have the silliest dreams, Lloyd!" Somehow, he could make her laugh more than anyone she knew.

"Not _always_!" he huffed. "I once -**OOF**!"

He hit the forest floor with a thump, Colette following close behind. Quickly, he turned himself over, drawing his legs toward him, going to help Colette as he examined what had tripped them. When he saw what it was, his mouth dropped, and he heard Colette gasp beside him. A pair of legs were sticking out of a bush, almost blending in with the forest floor. Form-fitting teal pants (or were they tights?) led to white boots with trim that was the same color.

"It's a kid!"

He scrambled to help Colette off of the boy, who they hurriedly but carefully extracted from the foliage. He had not reacted to the movement at all. Lloyd was bewildered. He had never seen this boy, he was sure. Iselia had few residents, and he could name every one of them. Besides him and Dirk, no one else lived outside the village, either. He had explored the area many times while growing up, and he knew the land like the back of his hand.

"Oh no! Did we hurt him?" The blonde worriedly looked him over, trying to see if he was bruised. She knocked the dirt off his clothes frantically, but gently.

Seeing that he still didn't wake, she became even more anxious, her voice raising an octave. "Oh, Goddess! He isn't dead, is he?!"

Lloyd knelt down beside him, shaking his shoulder. "Hey! Are you okay? What's wrong?" He checked, and there definitely was a pulse.

But the boy would not respond.

"Well, I don't know why he won't wake up, but he's not dead." He held a hand over the boy's nose. "And he's breathing just fine."

"Oh!" The girl wrung her hands nervously. "What do we do?!" She looked around wildly for help, but there was no one.

Back in the village, Raine could be sure to help with her healing magic. But he was closer to home than the village. The boy didn't seem to be bleeding from anywhere, so perhaps he didn't need immediate attention. Making his decision, he turned to Colette.

"Let's take him to my house and have my dad have a look at him. If he needs it, we can send to the village for Professor Raine."

She agreed, nodding. He tried in vain to wake the boy one last time, before hoisting him over his shoulder. Luckily, he looked to be somewhere around Genis's age, so he wasn't too heavy. He started towards the house as quickly as he could manage, being careful not to jostle the boy too much. Colette trailed beside him worriedly, never taking her eyes off the boy's face for too long. Hopefully he would recover soon after they got to their destination.

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A young blond boy lay motionless on what seemed to be a large wooden bench tucked away in the corner of a small cottage. As he opened his eyes, he saw two teenagers looking down at him. He briefly noted that his shirt had been taken off.

"Look! He's waking up!" The girl, a blonde with wide, blue eyes had spoken. The brunet, who seemed to have been busy examining him, brought his eyes to meet with the young boy's.

"Hey. Are you alright? We found you passed out in the woods earlier. It looks like you're not hurt, but..." He trailed off.

Looking down, the blond realized why. There was a rather large scar in the middle of his chest, which likely came from a very serious injury. He could tell the boy and girl were curious, but too polite to ask about it.

"But, do you feel okay? What's your name?" Lloyd asked, becoming concerned by his silence.

Finally, he spoke. "I..." He trailed off, trying to think. "I'm a little shaken up. Give me a moment to think." After a beat, he reached next to him and slipped his shirt back on.

Lloyd nodded in understanding. Behind them, the door opened, and Dirk entered. In his hands, he carried a large basin of water.

"I see you're awake now. Don't crowd him, you two. Give him some space." His voice was kinder than the boy imagined it would be, based on his rough appearance.

The boy and girl stepped aside, as Dirk approached. Picking up a nearby cup, he poured a glass of water. "Here, you ought to drink something. Can you sit up?"

Slowly, he raised himself up, propping his back up on the wall behind him. Wordlessly, he accepted the glass from the dwarf. As he drank, he tried wracking his brain for the answer to the question the brunet had asked him.

'Why can't I remember my name? Why can't I remember anything? It'll come back to me soon, right?' But even he knew that if his memories were going to come back, they would've started by now. He had been awake to long for it to be a momentary confusion. He looked up at the three.

"I...I can't remember anything." Their eyes widened in shock, and Lloyd's mouth dropped open. He wanted to say more, but the words just wouldn't come. He looked down at the cup in his hands, still trying in vain to think.

"Nothing at all? Not even an image, or a feeling, or something?" The dwarf offered, wondering if maybe he just couldn't make sense of what little was left in his head.

The young boy closed his eyes momentarily, but it made no difference. His mind was still empty. He looked back up to the other three.

"No, nothing. Where did you say you found me? In a forest?" Hopefully he could find a clue to who he was. Nervously, he shifted his hands around the cup.

"Yeah," Lloyd answered. "But I don't know where you could have come from. The only village around is Iselia, which is about fifteen minutes away. Colette and I have lived here our whole lives, and we've never seen you before." A sudden thought hit him.

"Oh, yeah, sorry I didn't introduce myself. I'm Lloyd Irving. This is my dad, Dirk, and my friend, Colette." He gestured to each side of him. But the boy was still deep in thought, and knitted his brows together, looking down briefly.

"So you've never seen me... What other villages are around here? Maybe I'm from there." He placed the now empty glass on the table beside him. Lloyd's expression became troubled as began to go through the list of places nearby.

"The closest places are the House of Salvation and Triet, but even those are really far away. Well, the House of Salvation isn't really a place where people live... And Triet is in the desert, so I don't know how you would've gotten here alone, especially with all the monsters."

Mithos blinked, face blank. "'House of Salvation?'" He furrowed his brows. "What's that?"

Now it was their turn to be confused. This time, Colette answered.

"You know, sort of a Chapel of sorts, and a place for people to stay while on a pilgrimage." Surely, he was just confused. But how could he not know what they were?

But he still seemed confused.

Dirk, seeing this, intervened. "Let's save the talk for later. Why don't you stay here for the night? Have a good meal and rest, and we'll address all of this tomorrow." The sun was setting outside by now. He turned to his son. "Lloyd. Why don't you walk Colette home?"

"Right. Be back soon, then."

Colette looked back at the boy. "I hope you feel better soon. Sorry I couldn't be of more help." She offered him a smile, albeit apologetically.

"No, not at all. Thank you for helping me. All of you." He returned the gesture.

The two walked outside, leaving Dirk and the boy.

"I'm going to get started on cooking. Feel free to get some rest. I'll wake you when it's ready." Dirk began gathering ingredients on the counter, and lit a fire under the stove.

"Thank you. I think I will." He laid back down. Perhaps after resting some more, he could remember something. Before he fell asleep, he could have sworn he heard Dirk muttering something about "...finding children in the forest all the time," but he ignored it, too taxed to think on it any more.

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Lloyd and Colette had begun their way through the woods, walking in silence. Both were deep in thought. Even the forest itself seemed quiet, save for the sound of their footsteps. After a while, Lloyd spoke up.

"I wonder who he could be. And how he got all the way here. Did some travelers come through the village, maybe?" He squinted at her through the orange and pink glare of the sunset.

"I don't know." She shook her head. "I haven't heard anything, but I'll ask around."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." He raised his chin, looking forward. With any luck, he was simply lost from his traveling companions. After all, he wasn't injured. But then there was the issue of his memory loss... Still, they could deal with things one step at a time.

Lloyd always did his best to be optimistic; it was one of the things Colette liked about him. Even when he was worried about something, he held out hope. He never gave up, and that inspired her.

"If he feels better, bring him to the village tomorrow. Maybe the Mayor can help."

"Sounds good. Do you think there's a healing spell for memory loss? Would Raine know it?"

She paused thoughtfully. "Hmmm...I'm not sure. I've never heard anything like that."

Lloyd frowned. Seeing this, she quickly amended her statement.

"But, well, that doesn't mean that there isn't! We can ask about that, too."

He smiled at her, realizing her effort to ease his worries. "Thanks, Colette."

She laughed softly. "Heh, no problem, Lloyd!"

They slowed as they reached the town's entrance. Dusk was beginning to settle, and the sky had taken on a more purple shade. They stopped at the gate. Lloyd found himself wishing the walk had been a bit longer. The day had passed by quicker than either of them had noticed.

"Guess we didn't get to hang out much, huh? How about a rain check?" He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Sure," She chirped. "Next time, then." She clasped her hands behind her back. Neither said anything, but they held their gaze with one another for some time. Then, Lloyd seemed to regain his focus, and shifted his weight.

"Right. See you tomorrow!" He turned back towards the woods, waving goodbye.

"Be careful!" She waved back, staying where she was even after he had gone. Sighing, with a small smile on her lips, she made her way home. She could ask Phaidra about the boy, maybe she would know what to do.

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Lloyd could smell the stew before he opened the door. With a grin, he stepped inside. "I'm back!"

Dirk smiled over his shoulder. "Just in time, I've just gotten supper ready. Why don't you wake our guest?"

He looked much more peaceful now that he was simply sleeping. Instead of lying stiffly, he had curled onto his side, hands under his cheek. His blond hair was fanned out behind his head. Lloyd fought a smirk at the unusually cherubic image. He nudged the boy's shoulder. "Hey, are you hungry? Supper's ready!"

Sitting up, the boy opened his mouth to speak, but ended up yawning widely instead. He quickly covered his mouth in embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

He waved it away, chuckling. "It's fine, I'm sure you're tired. You'll have more energy after you eat something."

"That's right." Dirk supplied from across the room. "You can't heal on an empty stomach."

Approaching a cabinet on the other wall, Lloyd got together three bowls, spoons, and cups. Setting the cups and spoons on the table, he handed a bowl to the boy and then Dirk. "Help yourself!" He smiled.

"Thanks. Really, you guys have been so nice to me. If I can, I'd like to find some way to repay you." Something about this atmosphere seemed almost familiar, but he couldn't place why. It was comforting, if not a bit confusing.

"Nonsense!" The dwarf replied. "Dwarven vow #2, never abandon someone in need."

The boy looked as if he was momentarily caught between shock and amusement. He looked over the Lloyd, hoping he would explain.

Lloyd laughed. "Dwarves, like my dad here, have a certain code that they live by. That's one of them." Shaking his head, he changed the subject. "You go ahead and serve yourself first. And if you're still hungry, feel free to get seconds."

The young boy smiled brightly. "You guys are really nice people." He may not know who he was, or where he was from, but one thing was clear: he hoped he could become close friends with the people he had met today.


End file.
